EVENTS: JCCS 2009 Part Four: Rolling Stock

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Friday Video to bring you more Japanese Classic Car Show sweetness. We love the fact that, like muscle cars, J-tin is ripe for modification. But sometimes it’s nice to see a faithfully restored example or an original survivor. Here were some of the best from JCCS.

You may have noticed the gleaming white Honda N600 in the lead photo. Everything about it looked as crisp and clean as the day it left the factory. Even the normally faded grille badge was as red as a Terminator’s eye.

Just look at that engine bay! Owner Dick Kartozian spent three years on what can likely be described as a concours-level restoration, if concours events allowed such a “lowly” vehicle. Most of the NOS parts were supplied by N-series guru Tim Mings, hence the sticker located on what might be the only non-original part, the battery.

This car won best Pre-1975 Honda, and it’s easy to see why. If Honda brings the EV-N Concept on a US auto show tour they need to park this car next to it.

In fact, some of the mintiest cars at the show were Hondas. We didn’t get a chance to speak with the owner of this car, but it looked to be another superb specimen. Merciless Mings‘ fingerprints are all over this one as well.

Few people even remember a Prelude existed before the flip-up headlight design. But at the time, this was Honda’s flagship car! Scott King‘s 1979 Honda Prelude was found with just 19,000 miles on the clock.

This year’s Honda turnout was the strongest yet. Dan’s a vintage Honda nut, which explains the number of photos from this section. Anyone who grew up in the early 80s must have memories of riding in a first-gen Accord at some point. It wouldn’t be long before they were pouring out of Ohio by the hundreds of thousands.

This beautiful Series 1 Mazda RX-7 was parked over by the Mazda booth, right by the IMSA race car it inspired. We think this might be part of Mazda USA’s collection but if it’s not, it should be.

Why are we including an FC? Well, this is a special 10th Anniversary Mazda RX-7 Turbo that was released in 1988. We like anniversary models, even if it’s just a snazzy paint and badge package — in this case, white on white alloys and a snazzy black and gold rotary shaped emblem on the fender — because it at least shows that the company is aware of its history.

Nothing says Yakuza Transport like a black MS55 Toyota Crown sedan. You can’t see in this photo, but the interior is dark red, which is even more gangster. This car is a part of Toyota USA‘s museum collection.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, a 1965 UP10 Toyota Publica. Toyota traditionalists who disagree with the FT-86 Concept‘s Subaru motor may warm up to it when they learn that the Publica is rockin’ a 700cc two-cylinder boxer, a slightly larger version of which powers the Toyota Sports 800. Or not.

Continuing with the small-car theme, another familiar favorite for JCCS veterans is Glenn Roberts‘ Mazda R360. This rear-engined kei coupe would not look out of place in an episode of The Jetsons.

Microcar owners tend to stay stock, because there really isn’t much you can do to modify them. The Honda Z600, however, has enjoyed some success as the sportier version of the N600. This has resulted in some truly bonkers examples.

This Datsun 240Z could be the spitting image of the one we used in JNC #3 to compare with a 2009 Nissan 370Z. Slotted mags were the thing to have back then, as you can see with both Zs in this photo.

Finally, a Mitsubishi! The Triple Diamond Mafia’s turnout was dreadfully thin this year, outnumbered by all but the Cony Army of One. In any case, we were happy to see a clean Mitsubishi Lancer Celeste, or Plymouth Arrow. We were unsure about whether the paint is original, but Matt says that they had some wild colors back in the day, so we’ll go with that.

Even though this Mazda RX-4 has aftermarket wheels, it’s stock enough to warrant a mention. It’s missing a bit of grille garnish but clean RX-4s aren’t exactly around every corner. This is America, not Oz.

Here’s Robert “Pertano” Perez‘s clean Mazda RX-3. I love this metallic teal-ish color and hope it’s original. It looks like a very nice survivor.

The spaced out styling of the MS75 Kujira Crown hardtop is bloody fantastic. The painted bumpers must have been a daring departure from convention back in the day, but then again so was the entire car. Simply breathtaking.

Has anyone noticed how few convertibles there are in the J-tin kingdom? The Datsun Fairlady Roadster seems to be the only serious contender, unless you want to go with a Publica or Daihatsu droptop. Chris Breyer won first place in the stock original Roadster class with his ’66.

The number of RT40 Toyota Coronas seems to have dwindled this year, but clean examples like this sedan belonging to JNC reader ma61 held down the fort. He purchased it from an Inland Empire resident that hoards these things.

I can’t believe we’ve gone a week of JCCS coverage without showing you guys our display car yet! It’s a genuine Datsun B210 Honey Bee. Our friends from Neoclassic Magazine in Japan graciously lent us this sweet ride for the show. Soon it will be going back home to Japan, where USDM maniacs will go nuts over its decals and giant 5mph bumpers.

We can’t blame them. How can you not love that decal?

There’s a few more photos you didn’t see above in the gallery below. And we still have many more to go!